The Centre is planning to reduce the e-visa fee in the next few days, to attract more tourists into the country and compete with other countries in the neighbourhood..

Last year, the e-visa fee for the US and the UK that account for the highest number of foreign tourist arrivals, was increased to $100 from $50, and for most other countries to $80, resulting in tourists choosing destinations such as Thailand, Sri Lanka and Dubai over India.

“Talks are on to reduce the e-visa fee to the earlier rates ($50), as it will help India compete with Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Dubai,” said a source familiar with the matter.

To keep the flow of foreign tourists going even during the off-season, there are plans to make the fee cheaper for that period, the source added.

The Ministry of Tourism is also planning to increase the validity of e-visa (which is currently one year from the date of grant of Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)).

The travel industry has also been asking for reduction in the fee to improve growth.

“We are losing out on business to neighbouring countries. While other countries are reducing their fee, India has increased it, which is having a negative impact on our industry,” said Pranab Sarkar, president, Indian Association of Tour Operators.

In June, the percentage share of the top 15 countries that claimed e-tourist visa for India were the highest from the US (17 per cent), followed by China (9.4 per cent), the UK (8.5 per cent), Malaysia (6.6 per cent), Singapore (4.4 per cent), France (4.1 per cent) and Australia (3.8 per cent).

E-visa is permitted only under five categories — e-tourist visa, e-business visa, e-conference visa, e-medical visa, e-medical attendent visa.

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